Top 10 Exotic Animals – 2001 U.S. Pet Ownership

An exotic pet, by definition, is a rare or unusual animal kept as a pet, or an animal kept within human households which is not commonly thought of as a pet. Sometimes any unique or wild-looking pet is called an exotic pet. The term “exotic” may also be used for a species which is non-indigenous to the owner’s locale. Many major pet stores and service providers (such as veterinary insurance carriers or online retailers) tend to classify any animal besides cats, dogs, small rodents, small birds or fish as “exotic”.

Animals kept as exotic pets include but are not limited to the following:

African Pygmy Hedgehogs

Alligators

Amphibians

Arctic Foxes

Bears

Capybaras

Cockatiels

Coyotes

Degus

Fennec Foxes

Genets

Hares

Indian Star Tortoises

Polecats

Raccoons

Red Foxes

Skunks

Sugar Gliders

Tame Silver Foxes

Wallaroos

Wolves and wolf/dog hybrids

It has been estimated that as many as 15,000 non-human primates are kept by private individuals as pets in the United States. While many professionals, including veterinarians, zoologists, humane societies and others, strongly discourage the keeping of non-human primates as pets, we reveal the top 10 exotic animals people keep as pets in the United States. These figures are according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) 2001 pet ownership statistics.